Last year, a high school lifter I was training had a goal of going to the Texas State High School championships. So we came up with a plan for the fast lifting season. We laid out the numbers to hit at each meet and that would qualify her for the State meet. I’ve wrote about Katy before, I’m about as proud of her and her hard work as if she were my own. So when she’d have an easy second lift, I was occasionally asked by one of her folks if she’s going up further on her 3rd attempt. My reply? Nope, we stick to the plan. The goals of each meet were geared to the the final goal of the season. And she got as close as you can without hitting it. In her final meet (and State qualifier) her coach called her up each squat attempt too early making her miss her easy final two attempts. I was on a work trip and unable to SCREAM at her to just hit the bottom like she knows and stop listening to her coach! (Yes, I’m getting worked up about it AGAIN! Fracking coach.)

Anyways.

Now it’s my turn to lay out a plan for the upcoming throwing season. Admittedly my first full season. I get to celebrate my 46th birthday with my first games of the year and I’m very excited. This will be less than a week after we get back from Finland to watch Bigg fulfill his own goals at his first Champions League competition after his bicep tear in Gibraltar last summer.

Now, it’s easy to force someone else to stick to the plan but not so much myself. I’m uber competitive and while I believe my goals need to be small improvements with the events through the season, I need to remind myself (prolly a lot) not to get sidetracked by the desire to win and force something I’m not ready for.

The Shamrock Games in Springfield IL will be my first time with two of the events and a little practice with events I did last fall. And that’s how my goals are planned out. I’m not expecting to PR every games, that would be silly. But I do expect to learn; enjoy the camaraderie of the people; and hopefully have fun with the Bigg man and the Oz man.

As long as I stick to The Plan, I’ll have a successful season.